The Wild Wild West is an American television series that ran on the CBS network from 1965 to 1969. During its four-season run a total of 104 episodes were broadcast. The Wild Wild West blended Westerns – hugely popular on television at the time (Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Wagon Train, Rawhide, etc.) – with spy adventure, which came into vogue in the wake of the highly successful James Bond films, resulting in such spy-oriented series as The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Avengers and Secret Agent.
The Wild Wild West is set in the 1870s and deals with the exploits of James West (played by Robert Conrad) and Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin), two agents of the United States Secret Service who work directly under the command of President Ulysses S. Grant. James West is presented as a sort of "James Bond of the West,"[1] i.e. the handsome, muscular action-hero who is handy with his fists, as well as a dashing "ladies' man." Artemus Gordon is West's partner, a master of disguises and also the inventor of the many gadgets that the two of them use in the course of their adventures. The two men travel about in a private train and use their talents to vanquish the many dastardly villains that threatened the United States – among them, disgraced ex-soldiers seeking revenge against President Grant, power-hungry megalomaniacs, and mad scientists with their brilliant but diabolical inventions. The last group includes the recurring character of Dr. Miguelito Loveless, played by 3'11"[2] Michael Dunn. As series producer Bruce Lansbury stated:
"Jim [West]'s world was one of two-faced villainy, male and female, countless 'Mickey Finns,' and needle-tipped baroque pinkie rings that put him to sleep even as he embraced their dispensers. There were inevitable trap doors, hotel walls that ground their victims to dust or revolved into lush Aubrey Beardsley settings next door, lethal chairs that tossed occupants skyward or alternatively dumped them into dank sewers that subterraneously crisscrossed countless cow towns of the period. And then there was that old Dutch sea captain, leaning in the corner of the swill-hole of a bar, who inexplicably winked at Jim as he entered … Artemus, of course, in one of his thousand disguises."[3]
Ten years after the series was cancelled a made-for-television revival movie, The Wild Wild West Revisited, aired and was successful enough to warrant a follow-up entitled More Wild Wild West (1980), thus bringing the total number of episodes up to 106. However, the movie was more campy compared to the serious tone of the television series. The death of Ross Martin in 1981 ended any plans for another film.[4] In 1999, the theatrical film Wild Wild West, loosely based on the TV series, was released.
The complete run of the series is present below in broadcast order. Included are the episode titles, directors, writers, broadcast dates, production codes, guest stars and the roles they played, and a brief plot synopsis. Also, the various disguises that Ross Martin used in his Artemus Gordon character are listed.
- ^ Kesler, Susan E. (1988). The Wild Wild West – The Series. Downey, California: Arnett Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0929360003.
- ^ "Biography of Michael Dunn at IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
- ^ Kesler, p. iv.
- ^ "Biography of Ross Martin at IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 2008-10-09.